What to Consider Before Revising Your Site’s Content

In 2012, our company decided to invest in enhancing our
team's overall expertise through several professional education programs.
Regardless of title, each employee receives a set amount of funds each year to
learn about latest trends and processes, all to provide consistently excellent
recommendations to our clients.

To help share some of those learning experiences, some of
our Simpleview team members will be posting here on the blog about their times in
classes and conferences. To continue our "We
Learn, You Learn" series, Sam Brace on our Website Development
and Support team has written about his time at Confab 2013 in Minneapolis, MN.

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After attending several public relations conferences and
events last year, I noticed some of the information presenters were giving
there had gotten stale. I was on a search for a fun and informative learning
opportunity, and thanks to advice from Andrea at Experience Grand Rapids, I
found Confab. I highly recommend this conference for anybody who is involved
with their organization's content development, whether they are writing it or
planning a strategy around it.

Being around such intelligent communications- and
content-focused professionals was especially helpful for me, as I was
transitioning from my past role as Simpleview's communications manager to my
new position as a CMS training manager. Not only was I able to hear about some
of the challenges and pitfalls that people face in all industries, but also see
how people were using their various content management systems to plan and
place the content they're creating.

With that said, there were several takeaways from the
conference that I think anybody in a marketing, public relations or
communications position would find valuable.

Every
Pixel on a Page has an Owner

Simpleview is in the business of helping destination
marketing organizations with developing and optimizing their Web presence,
among other things. Therefore, there is constant work being done to refresh and
enhance the way a website's content is delivered, whether it is written or
through visuals such as photos or videos. The nature of a redesign or site
refresh can cause some to simply decide to throw away all the work that had
been done in the past as an attempt to start with a blank slate. It's the exact
opposite approach to what Mario Vasquez on our team described
in his "We Learn, You Learn" post:

"Like moving to a new house,
you tend to accumulate more "necessary" stuff that takes up space and
is not used by anybody."

I agree with Mario that keeping underutilized content
around is a waste of space. I also think going to the other extreme and
throwing everything away isn't the right answer either. Both of these options
have negative ramifications.

It's important to remember that somebody took the time to
write the content that is either being brought over to a new site or is being
tossed out. This is somebody who is human and has feelings. They may likely
have a sense of ownership over that content, as they put some degree of effort
into creating and maintaining it. We have to respect that idea that every pixel
on a page has an owner throughout the redesign process, otherwise, getting a
team to buy into a fresh concept will be an uphill battle.

And for people to feel ownership over their work is
natural and fair. It's also likely for them to push back when change is
potential, especially since people can see the change having a major impact on
their lives. If somebody owns a set amount of content on a site and somebody
comes along and says, "No, this is what it'll be," then a negative reaction
should be expected.

That's why content development shouldn't be...

Us
vs. Them

To quote Sick of It All, one of my favorite bands: "When
it's us vs. them, you can always count on me." While the song has nothing to do
with team dynamics when developing content plans and strategies, the larger
point that we're all in this situation together and somebody can be the voice
of reason.

Ultimately, a DMO's website will represent their entire
destination. Somebody may own tasks such as updating the listings or making
sure the social media accounts are maintained, but the collective team should
feel like they are invested into every pixel, regardless of whose job it
originally was to create them.

It is an issue to see black and white issues and cause
people to take sides when that dynamic should not exist, especially when
completing a project such as a website launch. While people may be passionate
about building a responsive site or providing their content in a more
conversational tone than in the past, it does not need to be a fight. There are
enough metrics and pieces of measurable data available to DMOs today to drive a
decision toward one area, which should prevent camps of people within a team to
align against each other.

That is why it is important to have a strategy around the
content and a purpose tied to each piece that is supported by real behavior,
not assumptions. People do not want to let go of work they put their heart and
soul into, but if it can explained why the content works or does not work
within the determined strategy, the argument is that much stronger.

So, the next question you may be asking is...

How
Can My Idea Fit Into the Larger Strategy?

If you're reading this, I'm sure you have a few ideas on
improving your company or organization. However, getting those implemented may
be hard, even if you see ways that they fit within the internal "big picture"
concepts and strategies.

Simply saying, "My thing is important," will just turn
off other team members unless you show how it fits. This will require you to
get involved in the planning and be active in meetings, some of which may be
long and painful. And being active means being collaborative, not simply
throwing insults and pointing out faults. Collaboration can be as simple as
getting up to talk to the person, rather than shooting IMs and emails back and
forth where meaning can be lost. Let the team know what you are thinking by explaining
your set goals and needs, but without getting defensive.

I know - this is easy to write about, but hard to implement.
It's natural to want your way. Nevertheless, it is your job to make everybody
care as much as you do, which requires you to consider that "strategy" I keep
mentioning. Moreover, it may mean that you need to frame the content
discussions around topics that matter to your organization at that time.

While these concepts helped me to better understand team
dynamics around a new project such as a website redesign, they only scratch the
surface of what was covered at Confab. I highly encourage you to follow the
content strategists that shared these models and ideas at the conference - Kristina Halvorson, Paul Ford, Jonathan Kahn and Sara Wachter-Boettcher.

Author: Sam Brace

Sam Brace joined Simpleview in 2012 as a Communication Manager. Today, Sam continuously provides clear and concise information about Simpleview products and services as the Director of Product Education, and is responsible for the overall training programs for all of Simpleview's products.

For more information about strategy and development for your tourism marketing projects, e-mail us at info@simpleviewinc.com or call our offices at (520) 575-1151.